Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this latest Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight one of the more awesome sounding science fiction novels coming out in the second half of 2026 with Settle Down by Jeremy Robinson.
2026 has proven to be a particularly impressive year for author Jeremy Robinson, whose unique and over-the-top science fiction novels always entertain with they great mixture of action, horror and intriguing science fiction elements. I’ve already had an exceptional time with Robinson’s first 2026 release, 30Seven, which ended up being one of my favourite books and audiobooks from the first half of the year. However, we still have so much more to get through, as not only do I still have to read the recently released novel Parallax, but Robinson also has the fantastic upcoming book Settle Down coming out.
Of the two, Settle Down has definitely caught my attention more, and it is one of my most anticipated releases coming out in the second half of 2026. Set for release in late August 2026, Settle Down has an outstanding sounding plot idea behind it, which looks set to present a unique turn on a classic alien invasion story.
Plot Synopsis:
When Clayton survives a plane crash, he figures the worst is over―but he’s wrong―in this sci-fi genre mashup from the author of the Infinite Timeline series.
Stranded on a thirty-acre island with a handful of art students, a grieving widow, and a growing pile of corpses, Prof. Clayton Reed is forced into a role he never wanted: leader. Food is scarce. Water is scarcer. And trust? Practically extinct. When one of the survivors kills in self-defence, the fragile alliance fractures and a subset of the group flees in a dinghy to take its chances in shark-infested waters, leaving Clayton and six others behind.
But soon the night sky turns blue. Strange lights pulse across the horizon and strings of star-like objects pass by overhead. Something big is happening to the rest of the world, and the professor and his companions are sure it isn’t normal.
Rescued by a drifting luxury yacht loaded with food, weapons, and a fortune in cocaine, the survivors trade one nightmare for another. Earth is under attack, massive beams of light shooting down from space to the surface. As they sail toward home, not knowing whether it still exists, one thing becomes clear: Those looking at Earth with hungry eyes have noticed them . . .
New York Times–bestselling author Jeremy Robinson delivers a razor-sharp, character-driven survival thriller meets postapocalyptic alien invasion story that flips the genre upside down, inside out, and back again.
Wow, now that is a very awesome plot. I have to admit at the start of 2026 I never imagined that one of my most anticipated upcoming reads would be a science fiction thriller following plane-crash survivors on a desert island who are forced to contend with an alien invasion, although I should have known that Robinson would have come up with something this fantastically crazy. This entire book sounds so damn good, and Settle Down is exactly the sort of over-the-top read that I know I love on so many levels. I am excited to see how this excellent narrative unfolds, and you have to imagine it’s going to feature a lot of deaths, moving character interactions, and so many moments of insane action and intense science fiction horror.
Based on how much I have enjoyed some of Jeremy Robinson’s previous wacky adventure novels (such as The Dark, Mind Bullet, Artifact and Point Nemo), I already know that Settle Down is going to be an exceptional and highly addictive read, and I am so excited to check it out. While I was likely to read Settle Down based on my fandom of Robinson, the above synopsis is one of the most intriguing novel plots I have ever seen, and I love every single part of it. I have no doubt that this will be a true highlight of the second half of 2026, and I fully intend to listen to Settle Down on audiobook, especially with one of my favourite narrators, R. C. Bray, bringing all the insanity to life.